Closing the Achievement Gap - Washington State School Directors ...

Table of ContentsForeword ........................................................................................................... vIntroduction ..................................................................................................... 1The Ad Hoc Achievement Gap Task Force ........................................... 1Guiding Principles of the Task Force .................................................... 2Overview of the Policy Action Guide ............................................................ 5Understanding the Achievement Gap............................................................ 7Definition................................................................................................. 7Evidence of the Achievement Gap ........................................................ 8Understanding the Achievement Gap inEach School District ............................................................................. 11All Students Can Learn: Evidence That the Gap Can Be Closed ............. 13Closing the Achievement Gap: Key Policy Issues....................................... 17Allocation and Alignment of Fiscal Resources ................................... 18Quality Teachers and Assignment ofQualified Staff to Low-Achieving Students........................................ 21Teaching and Learning.......................................................................... 24Cultural Competence ............................................................................ 27Time and Opportunity to Learn .......................................................... 30Learning Environment .......................................................................... 34Readiness Gap and Early Intervention ............................................... 36Parent Involvement and Community Collaboration ......................... 38Assessment and Accountability ........................................................... 41Conclusions .................................................................................................... 45Other Policy Recommendations ................................................................... 49References ....................................................................................................... 53Presentations Made to the Task Force ......................................................... 57WASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ ASSOCIATIONiii

ForewordAll children can learn. If we teach them at high levels, theywill achieve at high levels. We have evidence that this is truein school after school all across the country.There is also ample evidence that what we, as school board members,believe about children’s abilities makes all the difference. If we believe thatall children can learn, we will design our school systems to make this possible.We have recognized that children don’t come to our school doors in cookiecutter fashion. They reflect their homes, communities and cultures. Ourschools need to address the uniqueness of each child, celebrating theirbackgrounds, gifts and contributions, while providing the individualizedinstruction, time and attention each needs to be successful.We have learned that equity does not mean equal in measuring resources.Need should be the measure of our allocations. School board membersmust ask ourselves if we have aligned our resources so that all children,regardless of the learning assets and deficits they bring with them, have aneven chance to meet our standards.All of this requires courageous decision-making on the part of schoolboards. While reducing the achievement gap that exists among ethnic andincome groups was always a moral obligation, it is now the law, too. TheNo Child Left Behind legislation passed by Congress in 2001 holds alldistricts receiving federal dollars accountable for the achievement of studentsin each ethnic group, for children living in poverty, for English languagelearners and for children needing special education assistance.This guide presents some of the best thinking about the difficult and puzzlingwork of improving student achievement. Taken as whole, it gives acomplete picture of what it will take to close the achievement gap.WASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ ASSOCIATIONv

My thanks to the members of the Achievement Gap Task Force for theirdiligence and thoughtfulness and passion for the success of all students.Thanks are also due to the WSSDA Board of Directors for forming andsupporting the Task Force, to the WSSDA Diversity-Multicultural AdvocacyTeam (D-MAT) for its advocacy of this project, to the WSSDA staffwho supported the Task Force, and to Debora Boeck, our skilled consultant.Best wishes to you all in this challenging and critically important workahead of us.CONNIE FLETCHERPresident, Washington State School Directors’ AssociationChair, WSSDA Ad Hoc Achievement Gap Task ForceviCLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP: A POLICY ACTION GUIDE

IntroductionEducators in Washington state have made significant advancesin improving education for all children. Establishing highstandards and being accountable through performance assessments arecritical beginnings in realizing a vision of world-class education. The goalis, and continues to be, for all children to meet or exceed the state’s highacademic standards.As documented in numerous state reports and national studies, not allchildren are reaching higher levels of achievement at the same rate. Indistricts across Washington, large groups of students are not meeting standards,creating a gap in achievement that is evident by group. Poverty andrace are substantial reasons for this gap.Establishing the Ad Hoc Achievement Gap Task Force and issuing thisreport mark the first steps in the Washington State School Directors’Association (WSSDA’s) efforts to close the achievement gap. Local schoolboard directors must take the next steps, through governance and policy, toclose the gap so that all children, regardless of race, family income or familybackground, can excel academically. The work of the Task Force and thisreport reflect WSSDA’s commitment to work collaboratively with otherorganizations in a concerted and coordinated effort to end the disparities inachievement between groups of children.It is the paramount duty ofthe state to make ampleprovision for the educationof all children residingwithin its borders, withoutdistinction or preference onaccount of race, color, casteor sex.— Article IX, Section 1Washington StateConstitutionThe Ad Hoc Achievement Gap Task ForceThe Ad Hoc Achievement Gap Task Force was established in January 2001.The Task Force is comprised of Washington school board members directedto make recommendations to the WSSDA Board of Directors, and ultimatelyto all school boards in Washington, on the actions that would bestassist school boards in closing the achievement gap. The Task Force wascharged to accomplish the following:WASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ ASSOCIATION1

Assess the achievement gap problem.Identify research, initiatives and other actions being taken by a varietyof agencies and institutions addressing this issue.Based on research, catalog school board policies, initiatives and actionsthat have contributed to ongoing success in reducing or eliminatingthe performance disparity among minorities or children inpoverty.Drawing on the Task Force members’ talents and abilities, and suchexternal resources as may be available, develop and report on bestpractices, model policies, or other school board actions that WSSDAand its members can implement to address the achievement gap issue.Over the course of 22 months, the Task Force listened to numerous presentationsfrom experts in the field and from school districts addressing equityand excellence. Task Force members reviewed research reports and articleson the achievement gap. These presentations and readings were followed byextensive discussion of policy issues and the development of recommendations,all of which are reflected in this report.The goal of the Task Force is to arm school board directors with the knowledge,understanding and tools to improve student learning for all childrenand close the achievement gap. In response to this goal, the Task Forcedeveloped the following guiding principles to serve as a foundation for itsissue analyses and recommendations.Guiding Principles of the Task ForceInequities persist in our society and in education, and school boards mustaccept a leadership role in mitigating these inequities and closing theachievement gap that exists at all grade levels and in school districts of allsizes and locations in Washington state.Closing the achievement gap is critical to preserving American democracyand providing all students with the skills for economic self-sufficiency andopportunities to realize their potential.District policies should improve student learning and ensure that allstudents meet the essential academic learning requirements.Understanding the impact of race and poverty on student learning isessential to closing the achievement gap.Schools cannot close the achievement gap alone. The responsibility isshared with schools, parents and larger community.All students can meet high standards when necessary opportunities,resources and support systems are provided.2CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP: A POLICY ACTION GUIDE

All schools can close the achievement gap.The achievement gap can be significantly diminished or eradicated withoutlowering academic standards for any student.Students who have not achieved academic standards must have theiracademic progress accelerated to close the achievement gap.WASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ ASSOCIATION3

Overview of the PolicyAction GuideThe Washington State School Directors’ Association (WSSDA)is publishing this report from the Ad Hoc Achievement GapTask Force to bring attention and focus to creating equity and excellence inall schools and classrooms. The report is designed to provide a frameworkfor school board and community dialogue about the achievement gap andto assist school boards across Washington in taking action to reduce, andultimately eliminate, the disparity in achievement among groups of students.This policy action guide begins by providing a definition and overview ofthe achievement gap, giving readers an understanding of what the gap is,why it exists and how it is stubbornly chronic in too many schools. Researchis also presented that school boards can use to understand theachievement gap and the impact of poverty and race on student learning.The intent is that this information helps school board members betterunderstand the achievement gap in their own districts. Research about theachievement of students in Washington state and nationally is provided tofurther knowledge about the gap. Also presented is research that “dispelsthe myth” and gives evidence that poor students and minority students canachieve at high levels when they are taught at high levels.The next section of the policy action guide presents what the Task Forcehas identified as key policy issues school boards need to address in closingthe achievement gap. For each policy issue, context and background ispresented, followed by recommendations for action by local school boards.School districts throughout Washington are actively working to improvestudent achievement and close the achievement gap, and examples are citedfor each of the policy areas. Finally, general conclusions and policy-levelWASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ ASSOCIATION5

considerations are offered to other policy makers interested in addressingthe achievement gap.School boards should use this guide as a foundation in developing anaction plan specific to their school district and community for closing theachievement gap.6CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP: A POLICY ACTION GUIDE

Understanding theAchievement GapWSSDA’s overriding commitment is to all students meetingstate standards. To close the achievement gap, extra attentionmust be given to those students who, because of poverty or ethnicminority status, are not meeting the academic standards. This does notdiminish the dedication to achieving educational excellence for all students.Programs and strategies that close the achievement gap will help all studentslearn at higher levels.DefinitionFor the purposes of this report, the achievement gap is defined as:The difference in academic achievement between AfricanAmerican, American Indian and Hispanic students andtheir white and Asian peers and the difference in academicachievement between students, whose families areof low-income, and their peers from middle and upperincome families. The academic achievement gap is furtherdefined in terms of performance on the WashingtonAssessment of Student Learning (WASL) and the IowaTest of Basic Skills (ITBS)/Iowa Test of EducationalDevelopment (ITED).This guide does refer, however, to the achievement gap on a national leveland therefore extends the definition to include differences in academicperformance as measured by other standardized tests. It is also importantto note that the Task Force recognized the limitations of this definition anduse of ethnic classifications that lump subgroups into one broad group.While, for example, not all Asian groups perform at the same achievementlevel, current data has not made it possible to further disaggregate data byethnic subgroups.WASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ ASSOCIATION7

The Task Force also recognizes that other factors have significant effects onstudent learning that contribute to the achievement gap. One of the mostsignificant factors is language. Evidence exists to show that schools withhigher percentages of English language learners (ELL) have lower achievementrates, just as schools with higher percentages of students qualifyingfor free or reduced-price lunch have lower achievement rates. Districtsthroughout Washington are working to increase the achievement of Englishlanguage learners, and this guide addresses the need to improve thoseefforts as part of the gap closing strategy.Evidence of the Achievement Gap“The differential achievement of poor and ethnically diverse students iswell documented and spans all grade levels.” (Poverty and Race ResearchAction Council, 2001). The achievement gap exists in school districts andschools across Washington and the nation and is not restricted to onlythose districts or schools with high percentages of students of color orstudents from low-income families. The data in this section serve to highlightwhat many already know—achievement gaps have existed for a longtime and show no sign of disappearing.According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), thetest scores for the nation’s highest performing students have risen by threescale points since 1992, while the test scores of the nation’s lowest performingstudents have declined by seven scale points, causing the achievementgap to widen. According to the 2000 NAEP data, overall scores inreading and math increased; however, the differences between black andwhite students have increased in every subject area and every agegroup. The data also shows that the gap in test scores between whiteand black students persisted even when socio-economic status, levelof parent education and other factors were controlled.In Washington, the gap between whites and Asians and other ethnic groupsexists in most subjects and grades. According to the Office of Superintendentof Public Instruction (OSPI) data as presented to the Ad Hoc AchievementGap Task Force by Peter Bylsma, Director of Research and Evaluation:White students have higher performance levels than all minoritygroups except for Asians in 7th grade mathematics.The performance of Asian students is fairly close to whites.Black, Hispanic and American Indian students have made lessprogress than whites or Asians.Whites and Asians have had about the same level of reduction in thepercent of students not meeting standards.Black, Hispanic and American Indian students have made lessprogress in reducing the percent of students not meeting standards.8CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP: A POLICY ACTION GUIDE

Data also show a clear pattern of achievement based on socio-economicstatus. For example:Schools with higher levels of students from poor families have lowerscores and have shown less improvement.Clear patterns of achievement exist according to socio-economicstatus, regardless of subject matter or type of test.A stronger relationship exists between socio-economic status and mathand seventh grade achievement than between socio-economic statusand reading and fourth grade achievement.In the following table and graph, the relationship of socio-economic statusand achievement for the elementary grades is presented. The table andgraph clearly show that the higher the percentage of students qualifying forfree or reduced-price lunch in a school, the lower the overall achievementof the student population.Pattern of Achievement on ITBS and WASL TestsRelated to Families' Socio-Economic StatusLess than10–19.9%20–29.9%30–39.9%40–49.9%50–59.9%60% +10% F & RF & RF & RF & RF & RF & RF & RITBS Math2-year Avg.ITBS Math2000ITBS Reading2-year Avg.ITBS Reading2000WASL Math3-year Avg.WASL Math2000WASL Reading3-Year Avg.WASL Reading2000Avg. %Low Income76.669.5 64.1 61.9 57.9 54.5 43. 978.170.7 65.6 63.1 59.7 56.4 44. 669.263.4 59.0 55.8 52.1 48.6 37. 369.863.5 59.7 56.4 53.1 49.8 37. 758.046.7 39.3 37.0 32.0 26.8 20. 262.953.3 45.5 42.3 36.1 32.4 23. 879.370.3 64.8 61.3 56.6 51.3 40. 482.876.3 70.5 67.7 62.6 57.5 46. 65 .6% 15.3%25.3%34.5%44.6%54.9%74.5%WASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ ASSOCIATION9

Pattern of Achievement on ITBS and WASL TestsRelated to Families’ Socio-Economic Status60% or more F & R“While our state’s WASLscores are rising across allgeographical communities,all ethnic groups and allincome levels, there remainsan achievement gap.Students of color and thoseliving in poverty generallymeet our new standards ata lower rate than do otherstudents. Similar resultsare observed in otherstudent assessments, aswell. This is unacceptable.”— Bill WilliamsWSSDA Past President50 – 59.9 F & R40 – 49.9% F & R30 – 39.9% F & R20 - 29.9% F & R10 - 19.9% F & RLess than 10% F & R0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90ITBS Math 2 year Avg. ITBS Math 2000 ITBS Reading 2 year Avg.ITBS Reading 2000 WASL Math 3 year Avg. WASL Math 2000WASL Reading 3 Year Avg. WASL Reading 2000 Avg. % Low IncomeThe achievement gap is present in schools and districts throughout Washington.In its report to the Washington State Legislature, the AcademicAchievement and Accountability Commission (the A+ Commission) reportedthat students of color, excluding Asian/Pacific Islander students,tended to be in schools that did not meet their fourth grade reading goalsmore often than in schools that did.The A+ Commission also found that, unlike special education and highlycapable students who are evenly distributed between schools that met theirfourth grade reading goals and those that did not, limited English profi10CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP: A POLICY ACTION GUIDE

cient (LEP) students were disproportionately represented in schools thathad not met their reading goals.The data are similar for different socio-economic groups. The A+ Commissionfound schools that met their fourth grade reading goals had lowerpercentages of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch. In fact, thepercentage of schools meeting their goals decreases as the percentage ofstudents receiving free or reduced-price lunches increases.Understanding the Achievement Gap in Each School DistrictTo provide leadership and policy guidance at the local level, school boardsneed to have a thorough understanding of the achievement gap in theirown school district. This means having a working knowledge of thedistrict’s assessment results from the ITBS/ITED and WASL and knowingthe right questions to ask regarding the test scores to determine the degreeto which some students are achieving and others are not.With knowledge and understanding of what the achievement gap looks likein their schools, board members can engage staff and the community inmeaningful dialogue about why a gap exists and specific actions to take toclose the gap.The following questions can help guide the discussion about studentachievement to determine the extent to which the achievement gap existsin each school district.1. Based on the scores from the ITBS/ITED and WASL, what are theachievement rates for all students in the district at each grade leveltested? What has been the three-year trend of these test scores?2. To what degree is there a difference in the test scores of studentsacross socio-economic groups? To what degree is there a difference inthe test scores of students across ethnic groups?3. Do the scores over the past three years show any trend? Is the differencein the test scores across groups increasing or decreasing?4. What other patterns or trends exist in the achievement rates of ethnicminority and low-income students?5. Are there patterns of achievement between groups across schools?What are the characteristics of schools with lower achievement? Whatdoes the Just For Kids data 1 show?6. What conclusions about student achievement can be drawn from thedata, and what limitations are there?1The Washington Just for the Kids is a Web-based data analysis and school performance and accountabilitysystem based on a very successful and highly acclaimed methodology developed by the Just for theKids organization in Austin, Texas. The methodology takes into account a school’s socio-economicstatus, bilingual services, size, student mobility rate and other factors to identify high performingschools based on WASL and ITBS/ITED data. The Web site is www.spu.edu/orgs/research/justkids.asp.WASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ ASSOCIATION11

7. What other assessment data exist at the school and classroom levelsto demonstrate student achievement trends in the district?The achievement gap plays out in a myriad of ways in addition to testscores. While investigating the gap in districts, it is important to considerthe following:Dropout and College Rates. The report Postsecondary Opportunity andAchievement in Washington presents research showing that AfricanAmerican, Hispanic and Native American students in Washington aremore likely to drop out of high school and less likely to go directly toa four-year college from high school. According to the report, about 17percent of high school students drop out; however the rate for black,Native American and Hispanic students is between 27 percent and 36percent.Over-representation in Special Education. The A+ Commissionreported that American Indian and black students are over-representedin special education compared to their presence in the nonspecialeducation population. Data show that while four percent ofAmerican Indians are in special education, they make up only 2.5percent of the non-special education population. Blacks make up 8.1percent of the special education population and only 5.5 percent ofthe non-special education population. Whites and Hispanics are eachequally represented in the special education and general educationpopulations, and Asians are under-represented.Under-representation in Gifted/Talented Programs and AdvancedPlacement Classes. Low expectations for students of color and thosewho are poor have a significant impact on achievement. Low expectationsfor students may be one reason that students of color and thosefrom poverty are under-represented in Advanced Placement (AP)classes and gifted and talented programs. In Washington, for example,only 661 American Indian, black and Hispanic students out of 11,447were enrolled in AP classes in 2001. Research shows that studentswith opportunities to learn at high levels have a much higher probabilityof completing a college degree.Discipline. Uneven administration of discipline results in students ofcolor being suspended and expelled more often than other students.Studies have shown this disparity in discipline based on race cannotbe explained just on socio-economic factors or the home lives ofchildren. A greater understanding of students from different culturesis needed by teachers and principals in applying fair and consistentdiscipline practices. As reported in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, a SanFrancisco school has implemented a successful program to reduce thediscipline gap by focusing on what adults can do to manage studentbehavior, rather than what students can do.12CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP: A POLICY ACTION GUIDE

All Students Can Learn:Evidence That the Gap CanBe ClosedResearch has shown that schools, including those with highpercentages of children from poverty, those with high racialminority enrollments, and those with high percentages of English languagelearners are successfully closing the achievement gap. In 2002, the EducationTrust (www.edtrust.org) based in Washington, D.C. released the resultsof a comprehensive study of school-level test scores in 47 states and theDistrict of Columbia from the year 2000. The report identified schools ineach state with math and/or reading achievement levels in the top one-thirdof all schools that also ranked in the top one-third of the state for povertylevels and/or African American and Latino enrollments. The study identified:3,592 high-performing, high-poverty schools2,305 high-performing, high-minority schools1,320 high-performing, high-poverty and high-minority schoolsNearly 50 percent of the schools identified above scored in the top onethirdin their states in both math and reading or language arts.In Washington, schools have made significant gains in the achievement oftheir students as measured by the Washington Assessment of StudentLearning. In 2000, the Partnership for Learning sponsored a University ofWashington study that looked at schools that had been performing wellbelow state averages. Based on a comparison of their past and currentperformance, a number of schools with high percentages of students eligiblefor free or reduced-price lunch made significant gains on the WASL readingand math tests. A total of 33 elementary schools and 32 middle schoolswere included in the study and had, despite their demographics, madesignificant gains to surpass state averages.Dispelling the MythRevisited, the report issuedby The Education Trust,“provides persuasiveevidence that poor andminority children canachieve at high levels whenthey are taught at highlevels.”— Kati Haycock, DirectorThe Education TrustWASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ ASSOCIATION13

The Washington School Research Center’s Bridging the Opportunity Gapreport of March 2002 identified 16 schools that demonstrated higherstudent achievement as measured by fourth grade WASL scores thanschools with similar demographics. Among the sixteen schools in the study,eight had 50 percent or more of their students qualifying for free or reduced-pricelunch and the other eight had 25-49 percent of their studentsqualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. These schools had as many as89 percent of their students meeting reading, writing and mathematicsstandards.Whitney Elementary, in the Yakima School District (www.ysd.wednet.edu),for example, has 73 percent of its students on free or reduced-price lunch.In 1999, only 26 percent of the fourth grade students met standard on theWASL reading, math and writing. In 2000 that increased to 42 percent,and in 2001, 63 percent of the fourth graders met standard in these threeareas.100%90%80%70%60%50%40%30%20%10%0%Larrabee Elementary in the Bellingham School District(www.bham.wednet.edu) is another example. With 31 percent free orreduced-price lunch, they were able to increase the percent of fourth gradersmeeting math, reading and writing standards from 56 percent in 1999to 81 percent in 2001. The average in 2001 for schools with 25-49 percentfree or reduced-price lunch was 51 percent of the students meeting thesestandards.14CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP: A POLICY ACTION GUIDE

The two building graphs are from Washington School ResearchCenter, Bridging the Opportunity Gap report, 2002.Researchers interviewed teachers, principals, school leaders and a districtrepresentative in each of the highly successful schools. Based on the interviews,the following four factors were essential to these effective schools:A caring and collaborative professional environmentStrong leadershipFocused and intentional instructionUse of assessment to inform instructionOther factors identified by the educators as important but not necessarilypresent in every school were:Small school sizeDistrict supportLack of student and staff mobilityParent and community involvementProfessional developmentBridging the Opportunity Gap can be found at www.spu.edu/wsrc.WASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ ASSOCIATION15

Closing theAchievement Gap:Key Policy IssuesThe goal is to close the achievement gap. Economic status, raceand culture should not be predictors of academic achievement.To close the gap, school districts must direct resources to those with thegreatest need and implement strategies to accelerate the learning of studentswho are underachieving. Closing the gap requires finding ways toclose the readiness gap so that no children enter kindergarten significantlybehind their peers. Serious attention must be given to creating learningenvironments that are intolerant of racism and exclusion and in which highexpectations are held for all students. All students, especially low-achievingand disadvantaged students, must be taught by highly qualified staff inpersonalized learning environments. Curriculum and teaching practicesmust recognize differences in ethnicity, language and culture and teachersmust be skilled in teaching students unlike themselves. An emphasis mustbe placed on literacy and mathematics. And, finally, reaching out to andempowering parents will be essential—schools cannot close these gapsalone.The role of the school board is to work at the governance level to create thestructure and policies for these reforms to occur systemically. In the followingsection, the key policy issues, guidelines for discussing these issues atthe local board level, and recommendations for policy implementation arepresented. Examples of what some school districts are doing to address eachpolicy area are also presented.The Task Force did not prioritize these policy issues. Each of the policyissues must be addressed to implement a comprehensive gap closing strategy.School boards are encouraged to review their current policies andpractices to determine which of these policy issues should be prioritieswithin their own district.WASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ ASSOCIATION17

Allocation and Alignment of Fiscal ResourcesIn Washington state, school districts are expected, for the mostpart, to improve student learning with existing resources. Given thisreality, districts must make new, critical choices about the use oftheir resources and target those limited dollars where they will have thegreatest impact.According to Odden and Archibald (2001), several commonalities exist inthe resource allocation practices of schools engaged in successful reform.These commonalities include:Schools allocate resources to where they are most needed and have thegreatest impact on student achievement.Schools dramatically reduce or eliminate classroom pull-out strategiesand implement other practices, such as one-to-one tutoring throughextended day programs and instruction in small classes.Strategies implemented for low-achieving students, struggling studentsfrom low-income families, English language learners and those withmild learning disabilities are very similar and are delivered withpooled funds.An increasing number of districts eliminate or greatly reduce instructionalaide positions and use resources to implement other teacherprovidedinstructional strategies to accelerate the achievement ofstruggling students.Additional resources can also have a significant impact on student achievementwhen properly targeted. According to an NAEP study, resources mustbe allocated to specific programs, schools and/or grade levels and towardspecific students to be most effective (Improving Student Achievement: WhatState NAEP Test Scores Tell Us, 2000). Targeted class size reductions (forexample, smaller class sizes only for schools with a high percentage ofstudents eligible for free or reduced-price lunch or smaller class sizes onlyat primary grades) are policies for boards to consider.Equal does not necessarily mean equitable. Resources must be directedbased on need. Weighted student formulas acknowledge thatresources cannot be equally distributed if the needs of all students are to bemet. Many districts allocate resources to schools in such a way that morefunding per student goes to those schools with students with above averageneeds. For example, in Seattle Public Schools (www.seattleschools.org),about 60 percent of the district’s state and local funding is allocated toschools on a weighted student formula, sending more money per studentfor special education, English language learners or students eligible for freeor reduced-price meals. Weighted student formulas can be used to addressdisproportional needs.18CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP: A POLICY ACTION GUIDE

Questions to Guide the Policy Discussion1. To what degree are existing resources used to achieve the greatestimpact on student achievement? Are existing resources used to supportresearch-based, best practices for closing the achievement gap?2. How are resources allocated to different schools within the district?Do the schools with the most disadvantaged students have the level ofresources they need to help close the achievement gap?3. What board policies currently exist that perpetuate resource inequities?What board policies currently exist that create barriers to directingresources to students with the greatest need?4. What are innovative models that other districts are using for aligningresources with the greatest needs?5. How can the school district’s allocation decisions be better aligned toimprove student learning and close the achievement gap?Policy Recommendations1. Create a district and community culture that reinforces the commitmentand belief that all district staff and the community members are responsibleto, and accountable for, the education of all students at every schoolin the district. From this philosophical foundation, work with staff andthe community in evaluating the use of existing resources and the degreeto which resources are meeting the needs of students who must havetheir achievement accelerated to close the gap.2. Complete an evaluation of current policies and programs intended toaddress needs of underachieving students and determine whether currentresources are producing the desired benefits. Develop resource realignmentpolicies that support programs based on valid research and results,and implement program evaluation methods and timelines for reportingback to the board on program effectiveness.3. Investigate successful weighted student formulas used by other districtsand determine their appropriateness in helping the district meet its gapclosing goals.4. Base resource allocation decisions on a well thought out strategic plan forclosing the achievement gap, and target resources to meet the specificgap closing goals of the plan.5. Review and evaluate the use of new funding sources, such as I-728 andTitle I funding in terms of the alignment of these resources with thegreatest needs. Consider allocation decisions other than per-student todirect and concentrate these resources where they will have the maximumimpact on reducing the achievement gap.WASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ ASSOCIATION19

What School Districts Are DoingIn the Federal Way School District (www.fwsd.wednet.edu), staff has createda way to reliably identify schools that are struggling to meet state anddistrict goals for student achievement and are in need of extra support,assistance or intervention. Staff created a rubric, or scoring guide, thatplaces schools along a three-point continuum. Schools are rated usingachievement targets from the district’s strategic plan, and a school’s ratingis used in allocating both fiscal and human resources. Strategic plan goalsused for evaluation are:School meets or exceeds goals for WASL reading.80 percent of the school’s third grade students are reading at gradelevel as measured by the ITBS.School demonstrates continuous increase in student performance asmeasured by a 3-year rolling average on the WASL and ITBS/ITED.School increases the number of students meeting standard on STARscores from fall to spring.School has an “opportunity gap” under ten percent of students achievingbelow the average of the top-ten comparable schools.For schools identified as “intervention schools,” increased staff is allocatedto focus on increasing skills and reducing student-teacher ratios in gradesK-2. In addition, an Instructional Team Member is allotted at least a fulldayeach week to the school to work with teachers, and the school mayalso receive additional funds depending on achievement needs.The Edmonds School District (www.edmonds.wednet.edu) has used aweighted student formula to allocate funding to schools for many years.The formula was first developed to provide a differentiated level of learningsupport to individual schools. The formula is used to allocate a portion ofthe resources to schools and includes funding for Title I, LAP and specialeducation as well as the basic education dollars generated by special educationstudents. Under the formula, all schools receive some level of support,but the level of support is determined by a needs assessment. Criteria forthe elementary school needs assessment includes the following:Student enrollmentPercentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunchNumber of students scoring below the 25th percentile on districtdeveloped reading and math achievement testsPercentage of students not meeting standard in reading and math on4th grade WASLNumber of students with individual education plans (IEPs)Number of “ins and outs” to measure mobility20CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP: A POLICY ACTION GUIDE

Percentage of students who were enrolled at the beginning of the yearand are still enrolled at the end of the yearPercentage of limited English proficient students eligible for ESLPercentage of students living in non-two-parent familiesBased on these criteria, schools are rank ordered using a formula to determinea composite score. The higher the actual score, the higher the need,and funds are allocated accordingly.Quality Teachers and Assignment of QualifiedStaff to Low-Achieving StudentsQuality teachers are paramount to closing the achievement gap.School boards must ensure that all students have access to the mostbasic learning resource – quality teaching. According to Haycock(1998), the most important educational investment a state can make is inhighly qualified teachers.Extensive research from the Value-Added Research and Assessment Centerat the University of Tennessee demonstrates that,Groups of students with comparable abilities and initial achievement levelsmay have vastly different academic outcomes as a result of the sequence ofteachers to which they are assigned. Based on these results, students benefitingfrom regular yearly assignment to more effective teachers (even by chance)have an extreme advantage in terms of attaining higher levels of achievement.(Sanders and Rivers, 1996, p.6.)The study also demonstrated that lower achieving students benefited themost, average students next, and above average students the least fromincreased teacher effectiveness. Effective teachers produced significantlyhigher gains in student achievement among low achieving students thandid less effective teachers. Similar results were found in research conductedin the Boston Public Schools and in the Dallas School District.Placing highly qualified teachers with students who are underachievingwill have the greatest impact on closing the achievement gap.Districts must consider how teachers are assigned. This includes how theyare assigned to schools in low-income neighborhoods versus moreadvantaged communities and how they are assigned to classrooms andprograms that serve disadvantaged students versus those that serve achievingand highly achieving students.School boards and administrators can improve student achievementthrough the professional development of teachers. Improving teacher qualitymust be addressed in policies that provide for on-going professionaldevelopment. This includes teachers knowing how to use student academicperformance data to improve the teaching and learning.“In the hands of our bestteachers, the effects ofpoverty and institutionalracism melt away, allowingthese students to soar to thesame heights as youngAmericans from moreadvantaged homes.”— Kati Haycock, DirectorThe Education Trust1998WASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ ASSOCIATION21

The No Child Left Behind Act (www.nochildleftbehind.gov) requires thatall teachers in core academic subjects be highly qualified by the end of the2005-6 school years. The new law defines highly qualified teachers as thosewho not only possess full state certification but also have a solid contentknowledge of the subjects they teach. High quality teachers must employeffective instructional and assessment strategies and methods in preparingstudents to meet state standards. Teachers must be able to do this for allthe children they teach.In providing professional development, key areas including pedagogy,content knowledge of subjects taught, use of assessment data to driveinstructional decisions and understanding the needs of a diverse studentpopulation are paramount. An ongoing policy issue centers on providingteachers with sufficient time to develop these critical skills and knowledge.The assignment of teachers and instructional aides is also a critical factorin closing the achievement gap. Project STAR in the state of Tennessee wasa large-scale, randomized within-school research study focused primarily ondetermining the effects of class size. Secondary analysis addressed the useof instructional aides and the benefits of using assistants to improve studentachievement. The results from STAR, as well as from other researchstudies, have found that, in general, instructional aides are not effective inimproving the academic performance of students. Project STAR found nosignificant difference in student achievement between students in classeswith instructional aides and full-size classes without assistants.Questions to Guide the Discussion1. Do schools with the most needy students have the least experiencedteachers? Are Title I/LAP and other programs for disadvantaged orstruggling students staffed primarily with instructional aides providinglearning support?2. What practices are in place to recruit and retain qualified teachers?What is the district’s teacher turnover rate, and how is this affectingthe district’s ability to meet the needs of low-achieving students andto have them served by the most qualified teachers?3. What types of professional development do teachers need to helpthem be more culturally competent? For example, does professionaldevelopment give teachers and other staff members opportunities totalk and learn about race and culture and the perceptions and biasesthey may have encountered growing up? Does professional developmentprovide opportunities for staff to talk and learn about how race,poverty and culture affect teaching and learning?4. Is professional development for implementing strategies to close theachievement gap on-going, supportive and effective? Do teachers feelempowered in planning and conducting their professional develop-22CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP: A POLICY ACTION GUIDE

ment? As a result of training, are new strategies really being implemented?5. Is there collaboration with the teachers’ association to place the mostqualified teachers with students who need to accelerate their academicperformance and/or in schools with the highest percentage of childrenfrom low-income families or children of color?6. What is the district’s policy or practice for the use of instructionalaides? What evaluation data is there that would inform decisionsabout the district’s use of instructional aides for improving studentachievement?Policy Recommendations1. Negotiate with the local teachers’ association on assignment and transferof teaching staff to maximize effective teaching where there is most need.Make sure that schools have an equitable distribution of highly skilledteachers.2. Implement policies directing the superintendent to develop plans thatmove teachers to positions so they are teaching in their areas of endorsementor areas of expertise. Assist teachers in acquiring endorsements andtraining for assignments where they are needed.3. Develop recruitment programs that include specific and concerted effortsto attract and place highly qualified minority teachers.4. Investigate the district’s current use of instructional aides to provideadditional learning opportunities and/or remediation to struggling students.Give consideration to limiting or redirecting the role of aides inlight of the research. Students who are not achieving benefit most withinstruction from qualified teachers.5. Review professional development programs to ensure that they addresscultural competence. Require multi-cultural education training for teachersand administrators.6. Create opportunities for teacher release time to be used for specifictraining in literacy and mathematics and in the development of teachingskills in how to make learning effective, individual and long lasting.7. Develop policies and budget priorities for staff development that arealigned with the district’s student achievement goals and objectives.8. Develop policies and practices that support ongoing professional developmentfor all staff and especially mentoring and coaching for new andstruggling teachers.WASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ ASSOCIATION23

What School Districts Are DoingThe Tacoma Public Schools (www.tacoma.k12.wa.us) operates “ProjectQuality,” a partnership between the school district and the Tacoma EducationAssociation to develop and support accomplished teaching standardsthat reflect high expectations for teaching and learning in every classroom.They also shape the district’s recruitment, mentoring, professional developmentand evaluation activities.This past year, the Mukilteo School District (www.mukilteo.wednet.edu)completed a comprehensive review of its learning support program thatrelied heavily on the use of instructional aides in the delivery of instructionalsupport to struggling students and English language learners (ELL).With an increasing number of students, including ELL students, studentsfrom low-income families and students with special needs, the program wasserving a greater percentage of students. In some schools, the percentage ofstudents served exceeded 30 percent of the school’s student population.Program changes that will be implemented based on the review included(1) increasing reliance on the use of certificated teachers in the delivery ofinstruction to students so that the most qualified staff are serving thestudents in the learning support program who are the lowest achieving; and(2) reducing the number of instructional aides in the learning supportprogram and ensuring that existing instructional aides implementing instructiondo so under the direction of a certificated teacher with clearguidelines that clarify the role and responsibilities of instructional aides,classroom teachers, and learning support program personnel.Teaching and LearningNew conceptions of teaching and learning exist in the current visionof schooling with its emphasis on high standards, principles ofequity, and accountability. Teachers must teach to standards, usecurriculum aligned to standards, provide clear and focused instruction, andassess student performance toward meeting standards.Teaching and learning must give all students the opportunity to learn athigh levels. Academic rigor plays a significant role. Rigorous academiccoursework can mitigate the influence of the family’s socio-economic statusin a student’s life. High expectations for all students means providingopportunities to interact with peers who share high academic goals. Accessto all programs without educational segregation are methods to ensureopportunities for all students to learn at high levels. NAEP results clearlyshow that tracking or educational segregation, for example, has a negativeimpact on achievement. Those students who take more vocational classeshave lower standardized test results than students who enroll in academicorientedclasses.The Spokane School District (www.spokaneschools.org) conducted seniorexit interviews this past year, and students in Advanced Placement and24CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP: A POLICY ACTION GUIDE

honors classes stated that they felt prepared for their future, not because ofthe material covered but because of the “life lessons” of meeting deadlines,independent work and real-life applications used in learning, while moststudents in regular classes felt unprepared and asked for less busy work andmemorization and more application-based learning.Technology is the other key factor in the current teaching and learningframework. Recent ITBS scores showed that sixth graders who had a homecomputer scored 26 percentile points higher than those students without.Those with access to the Internet and/or e-mail scored 23 percentile pointshigher. Providing access to technology and integrating technology acrossthe curriculum must be part of the teaching and learning framework at allgrade levels.Connecting students to learning through their passions and strengths isalso critical to student achievement. Rigorous curriculum and academicfocus does not mean a limited academic focus. The arts have an importantrole to play in a rigorous curriculum, and many districts are successfullyintegrating the arts across the curriculum. “The arts make sense to studentsbecause the arts allow them to connect with topics, issues, ideas on agreater level of understanding. The arts help students internalize andprocess their world.” (Cynthia Chesak, Tukwila School District.)Teaching English Language Learners. Instructional methods must alsotake into account students’ first language. Closing the gap for Englishlanguage learners (ELL) is a challenge faced by many districts. The researchon English language learning is clear about what works. According to theCenter for Research on Education, Diversity and Excellence (CREDE), allstudents benefit from academic instruction conducted in their first language.Those English language learners who are taught in their first languageend up being more successful in English-based instruction whencompared to ELL who are not taught academically in their first language.CREDE also found that instruction for English language learners needs tobe provided for at least four years and up to seven years for ELL learners tobe at the same level as those students who are native English speakers.Eighty percent of school districts in Washington state use ESL (English-asa-second-language)pull-out for English language learners, but it is the leasteffective and most expensive program to implement. Pull-out programstend to shift the responsibility for student learning to instructional aidesand others. The most effective programs (in order of effectiveness) are:Two-way bilingual, dual languageLate exit bilingual and content ESLEarly exit bilingual and content ESLEarly exit bilingual and traditional ESLESL through academic contentESL pull-outWASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ ASSOCIATION25

Questions to Guide the Discussion1. Has the district developed a teaching and learning framework forsupporting standards-based education? Is the curriculum aligned tothe standards and do teachers use classroom-based assessments tosteer their instruction?2. Is the learning framework focused on providing all students withopportunities to learn at high levels? Is the curriculum based onchallenging content that requires application and demonstration oflearning?3. What policies and practices are in place that encourage and supportminority and low-income students’ access to, and success in, challengingcourses, such as Advanced Placement, honors or InternationalBaccalaureate classes?4. To what degree do teachers’ expectations for students in poverty,students of color or English language learners affect decisions aboutstudent placement or the tracking of students?5. What is the instructional program model for English language learners?To what degree is ESL pull-out used as a program option? Do theschools provide English language learners with sufficient support forlearning academic subjects?6. How is technology used across the curriculum? What is being done toincrease access to technology for all students?7. To what degree does the district use programs like the arts to engagestudents and provide them vehicles for applying academic learning?Policy Recommendations1. Develop a board philosophy and set of principles guiding the implementationof standards-based instruction, curriculum aligned to standards andthe use of best practices in classrooms.2. Review current curriculum development and adoption policies and reviseas needed to ensure that curriculum decisions are made to supportstandards and current trends in educational reform. Use equity checklistsor rubrics in the review of all curriculum.3. Implement policies that provide for a rigorous curriculum for all students.Ensure that all students have opportunities to enroll in honors, AdvancedPlacement and International Baccalaureate programs.4. Review the district’s program structure and staffing for English languagelearners to determine its alignment with best practices and implementneeded program changes with a focus on reducing ESL pull-out as themodel for instruction.26CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP: A POLICY ACTION GUIDE

What Districts Are DoingBellevue School District (www.belnet.bellevue.k12.wa.us) is working toraise standards for all students and lower the dropout rate by using AdvancedPlacement (AP) as an anchor for the overall improvement of studentachievement. In six years, the district has gone from scattered APcourse offerings to a district where all high schools offer a full AP or InternationalBaccalaureate program and district curriculum development is tiedat all levels with AP curriculum and tests. More than 70 percent of thedistrict’s current senior class has taken at least one Advanced Placementcourse.Technology can be a great equalizer for students. The Bridgeport SchoolDistrict (www.bridgeport.wednet.edu) is a model for using technology toreduce the differences among students. Bridgeport went from 80 percentwhite in the mid-nineties to 86 percent Hispanic and at the same timeexperienced enrollment and funding declines. The district addressed thesechanges by retooling its schools with technology. Bridgeport began bygetting donated computers to families and then working with AmeriCorpsand Wilderness Technology to promote a “make it and take it” program inwhich students build a computer for themselves and take it home. With afederal grant, the district is connecting the school and homes to theInternet.The Manson School District (www.manson.org) operates a successful duallanguage program at the elementary level. The program merges the mostsuccessful aspects of second language learning with a challenging academicprogram. Students will learn to read and write first in their dominantlanguage and be part of the Manson Elementary Language Leveling program.They will learn about other subjects in English and Spanish. Instructionwill be divided so that they will learn about half the time in eachlanguage. Lessons will not be repeated in each language but will build onone another.Cultural CompetenceRace and class inequities are deeply embedded in society’s institutions.Institutions, just as the people in them, must be culturallycompetent. This means that schools and school districts reflectpolicies, practices and structures that promote equity and respect for diversity.It also means that educators must understand the culture of poverty.As explained by Ruby Payne, in A Framework for Understanding Poverty,children bring with them “hidden rules” and patterns of thought, socialinteraction, cognitive strategies and other patterns of the class in whichthey were raised, and many are very different than those operating inschools driven by middle class patterns and rules.To close the achievement gap, there must be understanding of the impact oflanguage, culture, race and poverty on student achievement. Students fromWASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ ASSOCIATION27

economically disadvantaged families and communities often have differentbasic values and needs, and it is these differences that often create conflictat school. Behaviors of students from cultures different from those of theteacher are often not understood and can be misinterpreted by school staffwho have had very different life experiences.The vast majority of teachers in Washington state are mono-cultural andmonolingual while student bodies are increasingly culturally diverse, bilingual,and English language learners.Students of color and students from poverty often bring experiences and anunderstanding of history and knowledge that they do not see representedin the teaching and learning taking place in the classroom. For example,relevancy of curriculum for American Indian students is questioned whenthey do not see their culture and languages represented in the curriculum.All staff must be trained in how their own culture and behavior affectsculturally and linguistically different students. These behaviors and culturaldifferences include how families perceive schooling, values and expectationsof the culture and simple things, like gestures and mannerisms.Staff need the skills to teach children to be “bi-cultural,” to succeed inschool and the workplace while remaining culturally proficient in theirhomes and neighborhoods.Attitude plays a key role in how individuals interact with each other. Biasedattitudes of particular cultural and socio-economic groups significantly altera school’s learning environment. A negative attitude breeds a negativeschool climate, and positive attitudes send clear messages that all are valued.Care must be taken to not let biased attitudes establish differentachievement expectations for students from different backgrounds.Questions to Guide the Discussion1. What dialogue on education and race have been held in the schoolsand communities? Do staff understand the impact of culture and raceon learning? Have they been educated about the culture of povertyand its effects on learning?2. What false assumptions are held about English language learners,children and families in poverty, and students who are culturallydifferent? What false assumptions operate about parent’s willingnessto be involved in their children’s education? What unresolved issuesabout race and class exist that are known to influence education?3. How culturally competent is the educational system, board and staff?What can be done to be more culturally responsive?28CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP: A POLICY ACTION GUIDE

Policy Recommendations1. Develop and adopt policies that express the board’s philosophy aboutequity and cultural competence. Affirm the board’s philosophy aboutequity and excellence through a statement of core beliefs that is posted inall schools. Be explicit in the policy about undoing racism.2. Join leaders in the community, including the faith-based community, tocall for a dialogue on race and the culture of poverty. Form communitystudy circles and book clubs to educate staff and others on differentcultures and race issues.3. Provide for and support ongoing professional development to ensure thatstaff are culturally competent and hold high expectations for all students.4. As a board, meet with students on a regular basis to hear their voices andengage them in helping to create a learning environment free of racism.What School Districts Are DoingSchool boards can adopt aggressive policies about eliminating racism. TheTukwila School Board (www.tukwila.wednet.edu) recognized the increasingcomplexity of assuring equity and excellence and the destructive nature ofracism by individuals and institutions, and sought to undo racism throughthe adoption of a school board policy. The board adopted five principlesthat commit the district to:Undoing racism and eliminating prejudice, bigotry and discriminationin schoolsEliminating disparities in achievement and in the administration ofdisciplineProviding educational experiences that reflect racial, cultural, andlinguistic diversityProviding comprehensive training to staff to respond to diversityEnsuring a supportive school environment in which each student hasan advocateThe Federal Way School District (www.fwsd.wednet.edu) created a taskforce that spent a full summer developing action plans to address its persistentacademic achievement gap between black, Hispanic, American Indianand their white and Asian peers. An Office of Equity and Achievement wascreated and specific goals for closing the gap were developed.Seattle Public Schools (www.seattleschools.org) developed the DistrictAction Plan to Eliminate Disproportionality following recommendationsfrom a district Action Committee on Disproportionality. The committeewas formed in response to data showing African American students beingsuspended or expelled twice as often as white high school students andWASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ ASSOCIATION29

“We need to look inside ourdistrict. What’s important isthat we do not makeassumptions about anychild.”— Diane TurnerFederal Way School Districtthree times as often as white students in middle school; significantly higherdropout rates for students of color; and much higher percentages of studentsof color scoring below the 25th percentile on the ITBS.Throughout the entire school year, conversations on race will occur thatbegan with an August symposium focused on the elimination ofdisproportionality. The district’s action plan also addressed the need toimplement strategies to address and eliminate stereotyping and other biasesin special programs. The bilingual, highly capable and special educationprograms have been or will be reviewed.Time and Opportunity to LearnTime is a resource. A strong correlation exists between time on taskand improved academic performance. On a national level, theCommission on Time and Learning has found that—Ensuring that all students learn to high standards will require flexibilityand innovation in the use of common core learning time, as well asthe rest of the time students spend both during and beyond the schooldayIncreasing the amount and duration of intensive, engaging and challenginglearning activities geared to high standards can increase studentmotivation and achievementThe benefits of extending learning time, including common coreinstructional time, can be maximized by concurrent changes in curriculumand instruction, such as accelerated learning, and engaging,interactive instruction based on challenging contentTo close the achievement gap, those students who are the furthest behindmust have increased opportunity to learn to “catch up” and close the gap.The table below illustrates that if opportunity to learn in reading is heldconstant to meet the three-year 25 percent reduction goal in the number ofstudents not meeting standard, most American Indian, black and Hispanicstudents will not meet standard until well past 2008.Trend Needed to Meet 25% Improvement Goal — Grade 4 Reading2000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012AmericanIndianAsian/PacificIslanderBlack/AfricanAmericanHispanicWhite46.951.8 56.2 60.2 63.8 67.1 70.1 72.9 75.4 77.6 79.7 81.5 83. 266.769.7 72.5 75.0 77.3 79.4 81.3 83.0 84.5 86.0 87.2 88.4 89. 547.752.5 56.8 60.8 64.4 67.6 70.6 73.3 75.7 77.9 80.0 81.8 83. 539.444.9 50.0 54.6 58.7 62.5 65.9 69.0 71.9 74.4 76.8 78.9 80. 871.874.4 76.7 78.9 80.8 82.5 84.1 85.6 86.9 88.1 89.2 90.2 91. 1Source: OSPI, Research & Evaluation30CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP: A POLICY ACTION GUIDE

If it is accepted that students in the lowest quartile will make only normalannual growth, those students will continue to stay in the lowest quartile,and the gap will never close. Students only “catch up” by making morethan a year’s worth of growth. Extended learning time and targetedremediation are the strategies needed to increase the rate of growth forstudents in the lowest quartile. Extended learning time can be in terms oflonger school days, longer school years, after-school tutorials, Saturdayenrichment, or summer school.In-school instructional time must be used to accelerate achievement forthose students in the lowest quartile. Grade-level reading should perhaps bethe main priority in closing the achievement gap, and therefore receive amore significant share of the instructional day. A student who is two tothree years behind in reading, for example, will require time beyond thetime devoted to reading for the general population to come up to gradelevel. How time is used during the school day for these students must beexamined. The best use of existing time may be the same number of schoolcalendar days used in more strategic ways.It is also important to ensure that opportunities to learn are carefullystructured to provide additional time for targeted remediation withoutstudents losing out on learning taking place in the classroom. In a highperformingelementary school, in-class instruction is designed for maintenanceof grade-level skills and exposure to grade-level material while theextended day program is for remediation. Schools that provide real-timeremediation strategies so that students stay on track, keep students fromfalling farther and farther behind. Finally, targeted remediation and extendedlearning opportunities should be implemented along with assessmentsystems that measure annual rates of growth, especially in readingand math. Level Tests that measure spring to spring achievement are usedby many districts.Questions to Guide the Discussion1. How do the schools currently structure their school day and schoolyear to maximize academic learning time?2. Is modifying the calendar for learning something that should bediscussed by schools in the district? How is the district addressing thechallenge of summer learning loss for students?3. What assessment procedures do the schools have in place to identifystudents in need of specific, targeted remediation?4. What developmental and remedial learning opportunities do theschools currently provide during the school day, after school and inthe summer? How are they staffed and are adequate resources targetedto those programs and strategies? What assessment data exists toshow how successful these current programs are?WASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ ASSOCIATION31

5. To what degree have new ways to increase academic learning time forstudents most in need been examined and implemented?6. To what extent is the district providing extended learning opportunitiesfor primary age students who are not reading at grade level?7. What possibilities have been explored regarding the school calendarand modifications of the existing calendar? Are the opportunities tolearn for students in need of remediation placed at the most strategictimes throughout the year? What would the most effective academiccalendar of 180 days look like?Policy Recommendations1. Develop and adopt policies that direct the resource of time to closing theachievement gap, including a clear focus on using extended time effectivelybased on assessment of students’ needs. Allocate resources forremediation and acceleration of students’ annual growth targeted tostudents in the lowest quartile.2. Ensure that policies and practices establish clear links between theextended time programs and the regular academic program.3. Implement policies that develop and use collaboration among schools,parents, and communities to widen the pool of resources, expertise, andactivities available to extended day programs, such as recruiting parentsand community members as individual tutors and mentors. Explorecollaborations with traditional afterschool programs to provide extendedacademic learning opportunities.4. Direct staff to search for outside funding to support extended learningopportunities, including state, federal and private sources.5. In implementing new policies or practices to increase learning opportunitiesand time directed at closing the achievement gap, be sure to includea thoughtful evaluation plan to measure program effectiveness. Includeassessments that measure rate of annual growth in reading and mathematics.What School Districts Are DoingThe South Whidbey School District (www.sw.wednet.edu/schools/americorps/am_home.html) has expanded learning opportunities for studentsthrough partnerships with several community groups. The districtand South Whidbey Youth Center have collaborated for many years toprovide afterschool tutoring services to students. In addition to theafterschool tutoring provided by the youth center, the district has a strongpartnership with AmeriCorps. The South Whidbey AmeriCorps membersprovide significant services to students, working with students and teachers32CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP: A POLICY ACTION GUIDE

during the school day and after school to extend learning. AmeriCorpsmembers:Tutor students one-on-one or in small groupsPromote family literacyEngage students in cross-age and peer tutoring“Host” community volunteers serving as reading tutorsDevelop community partnerships to sustain reading activitiesGrants from the U.S. Department of Education (www.ed.gov), and nowfrom the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (www.k12.wa.us)from the 21st Century Learning Center Program, have made it possible fornumerous school districts in Washington to provide before and after-schoollearning opportunities. These discretionary grant funds are used by districtsat elementary through high school to provide tutoring, enrichment,and safe and healthy activities for children far beyond the school day.Successful programs are well integrated with the school’s curriculum andviewed by staff as an opportunity to extend teaching and learning.Yakima School District (www.ysd.wednet.edu) has operated one school on amodified school calendar for a number of years, with two other schools intheir first year on a modified calendar. Research regarding student achievementof students attending schools with modified calendars shows thatstudents retain more and there is less re-teaching. For the lowest achievers,greater gains appear to be made by students in modified school calendarprograms compared to students in similar schools operating on a traditionalcalendar. Yakima’s Garfield Elementary has demonstrated success by improvingachievement using the modified calendar. The chart below showsthe school’s improvement through rising WASL scores in all areas.100806040200WASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ ASSOCIATION33

“Closing the achievementgap requires a comprehensiveapproach to studyingthe overall school experience.If it were just amatter of achievement,then your approach wouldbe to only focus onimproving teaching andcurriculum. We’ve learnedthat that will not beadequate.”— Thomas Fowler-FinnSuperintendent of SchoolsFort Wayne, IndianaLearning EnvironmentA school’s learning environment has a significant impact on studentachievement. The learning environment provides the conditions andclimate in which learning takes place. It affects expectations, perceptionsand behavior of both students and teachers. School environmentsthat foster high expectations and respect spawn resilient youth who areengaged and self-motivated.“School can be a culturally foreign place for many students and for othersit is a place where they are invisible. Small schools and personalized learningenvironments are proving to be significant in increasing the academicachievement of high school students.” (Tom Vander Ark, Executive Director;Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.) Personalized learning environmentsare characterized by staff who demonstrate caring and who valuestudent experiences and strengths. They treat all students as smart andcapable. As expectations rise by adopting rigorous standards, educatorsmust also be steadfast in the belief that all students can learn, and mustprovide personalized learning environments that support students in thatachievement.School size appears to play an important role. According to the recentlongitudinal study by the National Institute of Health, schools becomemore bureaucratic and connections between staff and students become lesspersonal as school size grows. In fact, according to the study, school size ismore significant than class size in terms of student connectedness.A learning environment that supports learning at high levels is also anequitable school. National and Washington state data show that manyschools have uneven discipline standards that result in students of colorbeing suspended and expelled at higher rates. Clearly, if students are notpresent, they cannot learn.Effective schools have environments that deliver equitable counseling andguidance, support services, and citizenship experiences that support equityand diversity, promote resiliency, and increase self-understanding andpositive identity development for all youth. Effective schools are characterizedby connection, cohesion and safety. Resilience promoting strategiesand asset-based models focused on assets like school engagement, positiveperceptions of teachers, and greater expectancies for success are related tohigher academic achievement.According to Ruby Payne, author of A Framework for Understanding Poverty,the key to achievement for students from poverty is relationships. “Whenstudents who have been in poverty (and have successfully made it intomiddle class) are asked how they made the journey, the answer nine timesout of 10 has to do with relationship – a teacher, counselor or coach whomade a suggestion or took an interest in them as individuals.” (Page 143.)34CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP: A POLICY ACTION GUIDE

Questions to Guide the Discussion1. Have the schools’ learning environments been assessed? How? Is itknown if students and staff perceive their school to be a positive placeto learn? Do students view their teachers as approachable and caring?To what degree are students connected to their school and engaged inschool activities?2. What do discipline statistics say about practices? Are certain groupsof students over-represented in discipline actions taken?3. What is being done to counteract the negatives of large school size?To what degree is the district exploring restructuring to smallerschools or creating smaller learning environments? Is the districtconsidering school size in both short and long term facility planning?4. Is staff educated in the asset building model and risk and protectivefactor research and are they applying this information in their practices?5. What is the staff’s attitude toward students? Do staff members prejudgestudents and their potential based on race, culture or economicstatus?“Independent of race,ethnicity, family structureand poverty status,adolescents who areconnected to their parents,to their families and to theirschool community arehealthier than those whoare not.”— Reducing the Risk:Connections that Make aDifference in the Lives of YouthPolicy Recommendations1. Track discipline reports and analyze discipline data to determine if patternsexist that reveal differences in discipline along racial, cultural andsocio-economic lines. Revise policies and/or procedures and provide stafftraining to make needed changes based on findings.2. In district and school improvement plans, include specific goals andindicators of achievement associated with effective schools, such as (a) acaring and supportive school culture; (b) valuing and incorporating highexpectations for all students; and (c) assessing improvements in studentattendance, staff attendance and student involvement in school athleticsand activities. Measure school climate.3. Implement policies for a personalized learning environment in everyschool in which every student has a mentor or an adult advocate.4. Implement policies that require schools to conduct periodic assessmentsof school climate through analysis of student attendance, disciplineactions, and staff turnover and through surveys of students, staff andparents.What School Districts Are DoingMead Middle School, in the Mead School District (www.mead.k12.wa.us),is implementing an alternative middle school with a grant it received fromthe Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. With a GatesFoundation grant the school will combine with the alternative middleWASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ ASSOCIATION35

“Where there are differentlevels of exposure to readingin the pre-school years,basic literacy can catch upin school. The more complexaspects of literacy are muchmore difficult to catch upand children with low socioeconomicstatus (SES) fallbehind faster. Pre-schoolliteracy efforts require morethan decoding skills: richoral language opportunities,extended conversations;and exposure toreading. There is a correlationbetween SES andexposure to a rich languageenvironment. Kids musthave wide access to books,print media, writingexperiences and otherexpressive activities, plusdecoding skills.”— Novick and CarrNorthwest RegionalEducational Laboratories(www.nwrel.org)school grant to allow Mead Middle School to accelerate the creation ofsmaller, more individualized teaching and learning environments. Twoschools are emerging—one alternative district-wide school for students withspecial circumstances, and one “new” middle school.Royal Middle School (www.royal.wednet.edu), in rural Grant County, isreinventing itself with a focus on reading and is creating a personalizedlearning plan for every student. The school is ensuring that each studenthas the attention of a caring adult by starting an adult advocate/mentorprogram. Students will have the same mentor group throughout their threeyears in middle school.Readiness Gap and Early InterventionSuccess in school is influenced by numerous factors including whathappens before children come to school and what occurs while theyare in school. “While the board’s legal responsibility is to the K-12system, there is a large body of research that suggests higher levels ofachievement will not be possible for all students if we limit our focus towhat happens in school.” (Brumbaugh,1997). Researchers report thatmany minority and disadvantaged students enter kindergarten developmentallybehind their peers and that gaps in achievement grow as they continuein school. According to the National Association for the Education ofYoung Children, a five-year difference in literacy related skills exists amongchildren entering kindergarten with some children already independentreaders and others having the skills of a typical three-year old.To address this readiness gap, school boards need to work to extend highquality,academically focused early childhood education to children at-riskof school failure. School boards can advocate and partner with communityagencies to get more children of color and low-income families participatingin pre-kindergarten programs. Priority should be on language and readingskills targeting preschool through primary age children. The earlier theintervention, the more likely the achievement gap for individualchildren will be closed.In addition, policies that support full-day kindergarten can provide aneffective early intervention when targeted at meeting the needs of studentswho enter kindergarten not having had quality preschool experiences orenriched language stimulation (Hopkins and Katims, 2002). A longitudinalstudy of a full-time kindergarten program in six Edmonds schools fundedby the Better Schools Fund was conducted by Hopkins and Katims whofound that “for all 17 skills measured, a higher percentage of first-gradestudents who had previously attended a full-time kindergarten met orexceeded target than students who had previously attended a half-timekindergarten program.”(page 13.) These differences continued when thestudents were given the second grade oral reading assessment a year later.36CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP: A POLICY ACTION GUIDE

Many districts have opted to use I-728 funds to support full-day kindergartenprograms.Questions to Guide the Discussion1. What policies currently exist that support partnerships and effectivetransition between preschool and child care programs and K-12schools?2. What policy and program benefit analysis has been conducted todetermine whether the district should provide full-day kindergarten?3. Does the district determine each student’s level of reading and mathreadiness in the fall of kindergarten and have spring math and literacytargets to use in determining which students need early intervention?4. What early intervention programs are in place? What programs areneeded?5. What can the school board do to impact decisions about early childhoodeducation and readiness to learn?6. Can the district expend resources for high quality pre-school, at leastfor at-risk learners?“The single most importantthing that can be done [toprevent retention] is toteach students to read wellin the early grades and tostick with the effort insteadof waiting to do somethingwhen they enter fourthgrade.”— Lorrie ShepardUniversity of ColoradoPolicy Recommendations1. Implement policies that require early assessment of reading and mathematics,with intervention programs aligned to reading and math targetsfor all students who have not met the necessary level of reading and mathreadiness.2. Develop policies that create clearly articulated practices between elementaryschools and preschools, child care agencies and family organizationsthat support readiness to learn.3. Provide the community leadership to develop awareness of the issues andneeds of young children and families, including the need to close thereadiness gap.4. Establish a board liaison position with the local network of early childhoodservice providers and work to develop joint policies that supportpreventative programs and early intervention.5. Support family literacy programs and incorporate family literacy intoschool-based programs for students in K-3 from disadvantaged homes andthose who are English language learners.6. Develop policies to support full-day kindergarten for students most inneed or in schools with high percentages of students from low-incomefamilies or English language learners. Consider the use of I-728 funds forfull-day kindergarten programs.WASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ ASSOCIATION37

What School Districts Are DoingKennewick School District (www.ksd.org) has implemented an early interventionprogram based on the belief that by helping children come tokindergarten prepared, there is much less need for remediation. The focusof the program is “Kindergarten Readiness” and is implemented in collaborationwith the Reading Foundation. It provides the necessary pre-literacyacquisition that guarantees successful readers. The goal is to make allparents aware of how important it is to read to their children from birththrough third grade. At the heart of the program is a simple media-drivenmessage: “The most important twenty minutes of your day is reading withyour child.” The foundation also has parenting modules for kindergartenreadiness.Research based on longitudinal data from the Kennewick School District asreported by the National Children’s Reading Foundation(www.readingfoundation.org/local/local foundations.asp) found that “studentsat risk of failure can be identified in the first months of kindergartenby deficit pre-literacy skills” and that these same children can be re-identifiedat first, second and third grade on the basis of their low reading skills.This research makes a strong case for the Reading Foundation’s recommendationto increase the number of children entering kindergarten with basicpre-literacy skills.The Lakewood School District (www.lwsd.wednet.edu) is working to improveliteracy skills for preschool children in low-income families. With anEven Start Family Literacy grant the district is focusing on improvingliteracy in the home while making parents “full partners” in their children’seducation. The goal is to increase the literacy skills of young children andassist the adults in the children’s lives in their own education and selfsufficiency.The district is partnering with the Snohomish County LiteracyCoalition, Snohomish County Health District and Snohomish CountyHuman Services.Parent Involvement and CommunityCollaborationParent and community involvement goes well beyond volunteeringin the classroom. Involvement means parents supporting theirchildren’s education by reading to them at an early age, findingopportunities to learn and explore at home and in the community, placing ahigh value on education and ensuring that children are well fed, well restedand at school on time every day.Family stability is clearly associated with student achievement. On the2002 questionnaire responded to by third and sixth grade students takingthe spring ITBS, students in both third and sixth grade who were enrolled38CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP: A POLICY ACTION GUIDE

in more than one school during the year, scored on average 19 percentilepoints lower than students who did not experience those changes.Research shows that parent involvement is a complex activity, especiallyamong low-income families (Lewis, 2001). These parents often see a limitedrole for themselves in their child’s education and their involvement inthe school.The voices of disenfranchised parents and community members must beheard and they must be empowered as advocates for their children. Engagingfamilies in culturally appropriate ways is critical to establishing thesepartnerships.Community engagement is increasingly important as the general publicexpects more from their schools. The challenge is to engage the communityin ways that support student achievement and continuous improvement.Community engagement must occur at all levels, not just at the individualschool level. District-wide community engagement is necessary to securebroad-based support for district goals and initiatives, including districtdecisions about allocation of resources which may vary from school toschool based on need.School boards that engage the community in visioning, strategic planningand in other meaningful decision-making roles generally find greater communitysupport for the schools. As school boards work to eliminate theachievement gap, this partnership becomes even more important. There aremany examples of districts successfully inviting the community to participatein program planning and service delivery. Many districts successfullytap the resources of the community to provide extended learning opportunities,meet the needs of students who are not achieving and address culturaland language differences. The National School Boards Association(NSBA) has published a helpful guide to assist boards – The CommunityConnection: Case Studies in Public Engagement, available at www.nsba.org.Questions to Guide the Discussion1. How can community-based organizations, municipalities, social servicesand other agencies assist the school board in addressing theachievement gap?2. How is the board educating the community and parents about standardsand the WASL to gain community support for them as a validmeans to show real student achievement?3. To what degree are parents taught about how the school system worksand how to be an advocate for their children?4. How is the district addressing language differences in parent engagementpractices? Are the strategies effective?“Parents exposed tohomelessness and currentlyresiding in a shelter ortransitional housing aroundthe Jackson communitywere interviewed. Parentstold interviewers that (1)they see all too well what ishappening to their childrenthrough homelessness; (2)they were concerned abouthow poorly their childrenare doing in school; andmost important, (3) theywere desperate to see theirchildren be able to succeed.Parents greatly feared theirchildren using drugs,becoming gang involved orgetting pregnant, but theydid not know how toprevent it. Nor did parentsbelieve that they werecapable of helping theirchildren be successful inschool or in life. Parentshad a sense that it wasbetter to let other peoplecare for their children andthat it was best to stayaway, as if they were notgood enough to be involvedin their children’s care orschooling. They clearly didnot see themselves as aresource to their children.”— Kathy BurgoyneCommunity in SchoolsSnohomish CountyWASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ ASSOCIATION39

5. To what degree are parents and community partners listened to forunderstanding how they experience the district and schools?Policy Recommendations1. Develop and adopt a board philosophy about family outreach and involvement,including respecting family cultural values and norms and usingfamily strengths as the focus of parent involvement practices.2. Consistently use a variety of forms and means of communication toparents and the community and ensure that communication is provided toreach parents who do not speak English.3. Measure the effectiveness of the district’s current outreach strategies andparent involvement programs. Develop methods to continuously evaluateand hold the district accountable for effective parent involvement andcommunity engagement. Be ready to make changes if strategies andprograms have not demonstrated themselves to be effective.4. Advocate and provide resources for home visits, especially to the homesof children entering kindergarten. Getting into their homes is a provenway to help families have a better understanding of the school’s expectationsand for staff to better understand families and cultures.5. Provide opportunities to enhance family-teacher relationships and to helpparents build a sense of community and partnership with other parents.6. Provide meaningful opportunities for parent and community participationin site teams, advisory committees and other decision-making groups.What School Districts Are DoingThe Finley School District (www.finleysd.org) adopted the GIMME FIVEprogram that asks every parent to provide a minimum of five volunteerhours within the school year. In the first seven months of the program,Finley had representation from 38 percent of its parents and 937 totalvolunteer hours. GIMME FIVE is a highly successful program that brings adiverse group of parents into the learning community.The Family Partnerships in the Seattle Public Schools(www.seattleschools.org) seeks to increase the ability of schools to formeffective partnerships with all families. Each Family Partnership schoolutilizes the family involvement framework from John Hopkins University(www.scov.csos.jhu.edu). The framework includes six types of involvementthat help educators develop comprehensive programs of school-familycommunitypartnerships. The framework can be used by schools as a guidebut each school should choose those practices within the framework that40CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP: A POLICY ACTION GUIDE

help achieve the school’s goals and meet the needs of its students andfamilies. A description of each type of involvement follows:Type 1 – Parenting: Assist families with parenting and child-rearing skills,understanding child and adolescent development, and setting home conditionsthat support children as students at each age and grade level. Assistschools in understanding families.Type 2 – Communicating: Inform families about school programs andstudent progress through effective school-to-home and home-to-schoolcommunications.Type 3 – Volunteering: Improve recruitment, training, work, and schedulesto involve families as volunteers and audiences at the school or inother locations to support students and school programs.Type 4 – Learning at Home: Involve families with their children in learningactivities at home, including homework and other curriculum-linkedactivities and decisions.Type 5 – Decision Making: Include families as participants in schooldecisions, governance, and advocacy through PTA/PTO, school councils,committees, and other parent organizations.Type 6 – Collaborating With the Community: Coordinate resources andservices for families, students, and the school with businesses, agencies,and other groups, and provide services to the community.The overall purpose of Seattle’s Family Partnerships is to improve studentachievement. Parent and community involvement is the means, not theend. The purpose of addressing parenting skills is to help families navigatethe school system and achieve family literacy, not trying to change culturalor family practices.A key is establishing systems that support parents, as well as students, andto empower parents to support children’s learning. Relationship building isthe first step to building trust so that parents can identify the services theyneed and the district can better meet their needs. One prospect is to colocateservices in the schools. Another strategy is to sort school enrollmentby home language and then use all means of making contact, includingholding meetings where the families are, not necessarily at school. The ideais to create cross-cultural competence for school personnel and for families.Assessment and AccountabilityAssessment and accountability are critical to closing the achievementgap. Assessments are the tools used to hold schools and districtsaccountable for student achievement. The state assessments(WASL and ITBS/ITED) are only one component, however, of an overallassessment system. Schools that are implementing successful reforms havecomprehensive assessment systems for evaluating student achievement atWASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ ASSOCIATION41

the classroom, grade level, school and district levels, including use of datato inform and individualize instruction, provide feedback to learners andmake program and resource decisions. The use of Level Tests to measureannual rate of growth in reading and mathematics are currently used byseveral districts in Washington state.The state of Tennessee’s assessment and assessment information managementsystem provides for linking teachers to achievement of students intheir classroom and for measuring gains students make during the schoolyear. According to researchers at the University of Tennessee’s Value-AddedResearch and Assessment Center, “if equity is defined as the opportunityand realization of each student to make appropriate academic growth eachyear, then expectations for educators and students can be set in terms ofacademic growth rates” (Rivers and Sanders, 2000). More important,research has demonstrated that growth rates are primarily a function ofschools and teachers. Therefore, assessment systems should allow districtsto evaluate and monitor the variability among schools and teachers and usethese data to address the variability in teacher effectiveness and also toavoid assigning students to multiple ineffective teachers.With the passage of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act 2001(www.nochildleftbehind.gov) increased flexibility will be accompanied bymuch greater accountability. States, districts and schools will be held accountablefor the improvement in academic achievement of all studentsand for all students achieving proficient standards in core subject areas.Starting in 2002-3, states will be required to annually assess the Englishproficiency of English language learners. All students in grades 3-8 will betested annually in math and reading/language arts and at least once ingrades 10-12 beginning in 2005-6. Results of these indicators will be theprimary indicator of whether schools and districts are making adequateyearly progress. By 2007-8, students will be tested in science at prescribedgrade levels.In addition to these testing requirements, the NCLB act will require schooldistricts receiving Title I funding to issue a report card including:Achievement results in math and readingAchievement results separated by race/ethnicity, disability, socioeconomiclevel, gender, migrant status, and English language learnerGraduation ratesNumber and names of schools identified as needing improvementbecause of insufficient annual yearly progressTeacher qualificationsWSSDA’s Hot Topics issue of July 2002 provides a comprehensive summaryof the requirements for districts under the new No Child Left Behind Act(wssda.org, under “Hot Topics”).42CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP: A POLICY ACTION GUIDE

Finally, accountability must also include a continuous and vigilant effort toachieve equity, reduce disproportionality and guarantee equal access toquality through changes in policies and practices and a continuous reviewof the district’s progress. Boards must set clear goals to close the achievementgap, hold staff responsible for meeting those goals and set a time linefor goal accomplishment. Establishing a structure, such as an office ofequity and achievement, is recommended, as is regularly scheduled, publicreporting of progress.Questions to Guide the Discussion1. Does the district disaggregate data and report it in such a way to helpschools, teachers and the community understand the achievementgap?2. How is the district assessing annual student growth and using assessmentdata to determine which students need to have their academicachievement accelerated?3. Do the schools address the achievement gap in their school improvementplans?4. How is the district assessing progress and using the data to close theachievement gap?5. Is the present system for evaluation or placement of students denyingstudents access to challenging academic coursework?Policy Recommendations1. Develop and adopt policies that require schools to measure the growth ofstudents from their individual starting places but set goals that assurethat each child reaches standard.2. Establish measurable goals for closing the achievement gap for eachschool and for the district as a whole and report progress to the public ona regular basis.3. Use measures to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies implemented byschools to close the achievement gap.4. Establish a comprehensive data management system to provide continuousfeedback for improvement and assist the district in its work to closethe achievement gap. This will require data systems that can disaggregatedata by race, gender, socio-economics and primary language as well asassessments that measure annual rate of progress.What School Districts Are DoingThe Lake Washington (www.lk-wash.wednet.edu) and Vancouver(www.vansd.org) school districts have made significant investments inWASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ ASSOCIATION43

technology and professional development to effectively use real-time dataas part of the teaching and learning process so that teachers can addressthe individual needs of their students. In Vancouver schools, staff developedan assessment system internally to access student data and disaggregateit by several factors. They are working on real-time entry of data andaccess by classroom teachers. Lake Washington invested in a commercialassessment system that is standards-based and allows teachers to correlateclassroom work or tests with state standards and then immediately disaggregatethe data to analyze student performance. Parents and students canaccess data, and student work can be stored.44CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP: A POLICY ACTION GUIDE

ConclusionsChanges of the past quarter century, including increasing diversity,are remaking this society. Many of these changes havecontributed to growing economic and racial disparities. These societalchanges require educational leaders to restructure education. And thoughmany social and economic factors in society are outside the control ofschool boards, education remains the single, best hope to end society’sracial and economic disparities.Educational leaders must make the necessary changes in policies, structuresand practices to address these changes and the disparities that exist. Allschool boards must invest in a plan for closing the achievement gap. Thispolicy action guide can be the foundation on which school boards buildtheir plans for closing the gap.Progress is being made. On the 2002 ITBS, all ethnic groups made gains inreading. African American students made the greatest gains in both readingand mathematics. The most sizable gains were made by non-white studentsin mathematics.Progress also continues with respect to student access to rigorouscoursework. OSPI reports that the number of low-income and minoritystudents in Advanced Placement classes is also increasing. Washingtonrealized a 42 percent increase from the previous year in the number ofHispanic students taking AP classes while nationally the increase was only16 percent. For black students, the increase this past year was 24 percent inWashington and only 11 percent nationally. Over the past three years,Washington doubled the number of low-income students enrolled in APclasses from 655 to 1,308.The progress must continue. Closing the gap is a developmental processthat will require districts to make substantial changes in resource alloca-“Though the number ofcases is small, there areschools where no achievementgap exists, and thereare students who achieve athigh levels despite theincredible odds againstthem. These bright spots ofsuccess provide us with awindow through which wecan examine what might bepossible if we lived in asociety that truly valuedchildren and was genuinelycommitted to equity andhigh quality for all.”— Pedro Nogueraand Antwi AkomHarvard UniversityWASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ ASSOCIATION45

tion, learning environments, programs and staffing. To implement thesechanges, school boards must first provide the structure that supports andbuilds capacity for change. The structure must be in place to sustain effortsof systemic change that will result in closing the achievement gap. Policiesare the vehicle school boards use to establish the structure and createchange.If society really believes that all children can learn and that economicstatus, race and culture should not be predictors of academic achievement,then policy makers cannot rationalize or protect current policies or practicesthat do not support these beliefs. The necessary capacity must becreated for the schools to close the achievement gap by addressing the keypolicy issues identified in this report. The role of policymaker has neverbeen so important.46CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP: A POLICY ACTION GUIDE

Statewide 3rd Grade ITBS Results: 1999-20021999Mathematics Reading R/M Composite200020012002199920002001200219992000200120020 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80All StudentsAmerican IndianAsian/Pacific IslanderBlack/African AmericanHispanicWhiteWASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ ASSOCIATION47

Statewide 6th Grade ITBS Results: 2000-20022000Reading Mathematics Language Arts Core200120022000200120022000200120022000200120020 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80All StudentsAmerican IndianAsian/Pacific IslanderBlack/African AmericanHispanicWhite48CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP: A POLICY ACTION GUIDE

Other PolicyRecommendationsTo solve the complex problem of the achievement gap, there mustbe cooperation of policy makers at many levels. The WSSDAAd Hoc Achievement Gap Task Force offers the following recommendationsto be considered by other policy groups.Higher EducationCollaborate and connect K-12 education and higher education toaddress issues of disproportionality. This partnership can begin withteacher preparation programs that are developed in partnership withK-12 education so that future teachers are well qualified to teachstudents from diverse backgrounds. The Task Force supports theconcept of creating “professional development schools” in which preserviceteachers are trained in schools that reflect the diversity ofstudents and the challenges of education reform. These professionaldevelopment schools would have preservice teachers work with expertpractitioners and give veteran teachers opportunities to renew theirown professional development.Support high quality professional development for new and experiencedteachers in cooperation with K-12. Higher education can play asignificant role in helping teachers deepen and broaden their skills andknowledge in working with diverse learners.Incorporate cultural competence and the home-parent partnership inteacher preparation curricula.Encourage policies that support a program of incentives and generousscholarships for highly qualified individuals who want to teach in highpoverty and ethnically diverse schools.WASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ ASSOCIATION49

Train teachers to meet the demands of diverse student populations,including required coursework in teaching English language learners.Family Support and LiteracyTo close the readiness gap, adult literacy initiatives must be shifted tofamily literacy programs. Developing literacy and language withinfamilies recognizes the significant influence that parents have on theirchild’s development and supports families in providing that positiveinfluence.Family and community stability continues to influence children’ssuccess in schools. Research related to dropping out of school showsthat students who move frequently tend to drop out of school at fargreater rates. The academic achievement of students from highlymobile families also tends to be lower. Family support policies shouldrecognize the benefits of family and community stability to childrenand provide support systems and incentives for families to remain intheir community, especially during their children’s early school experience.Early Childhood EducationInvest in expanding quality preschool programs, particularly for disadvantagedchildren, and providing full-day kindergarten programs.Research on both quality preschool and full-day kindergarten providescompelling evidence that both strategies significantly increase studentsuccess in school.Improve the preschool experiences for three- and four-year olds byemphasizing the teaching of cognitive skills with preschool teachershighly qualified to do so. Support continued work to align K-12 EssentialAcademic Learning Requirements and benchmarks with birth tofive education.Support the position of the National Association for the Education ofYoung Children and the International Reading Association calling fora professional preparation system to ensure that staff in early childhoodprograms and teachers in primary schools have specializededucation that informs them about developmental patterns in earlyliteracy learning and about research-based ways of teaching earlyreading and writing.K-12 EducationSupport legislation to create small schools. As reported by Anne Lewisin ADD IT UP: Using Research to Improve Education for Low-income andMinority Students, several studies have found that as schools increasedin size so did the negative effects of poverty on student achievement.“The well-documented correlation between poverty and low achieve50CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP: A POLICY ACTION GUIDE

ment is as much as ten times stronger in larger schools than in smallerones.”Increase support for smaller class size, especially in grades K-4 andpass legislation for funding full-day kindergarten. Smaller class size,especially at the primary level, continues to be associated with higheracademic achievement, especially for disadvantaged children. TheNSBA Policy Research of Fall, 1999, Sizing it Right: Class Size-reductionand Student Achievement, reported that Wisconsin’s SAGE programwhich targets schools with 50 percent or more poverty and limits classsize to 15 for grades K-3, found like the Tennessee STAR study, thatstudents significantly outperformed their peers in other classrooms.Moreover, the black-white achievement gap narrowed while it widenedin other classrooms. The most recent longitudinal results from theSTAR project also provided clear evidence that past attendance in asmall class raised the average score on the ACT or SAT exam.Support legislation for increased funding and more predictable fundingfor K-12 education that eliminates crisis budget planning.Improve the disaggregation of student achievement data to avoidmaking overgeneralizations of ethnic groups and to assist in moreappropriate planning and decision-making for individual students.Support research and demonstration projects, along with disseminationstrategies, to identify and replicate promising school and districtwidepractices that effectively close the achievement gap.WASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ ASSOCIATION51

ReferencesBrumbaugh, S. (1997). “The Link Between School Readiness and StudentAchievement.” Updating School Board Policies. National School BoardsAssociation, vol.27, nos. 3 and 4.Bylsma, Pete. (2001). Analysis of Student Outcomes by Race/Ethnicity andSocioeconomic Status. Report presented by the Director of Research andEvaluation, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.Finn, J., (March 2002). “Small Classes in American Schools: Research,Practice and Politics.” Phi Delta Kappan, vol.83, no. 7.Fowler-Finn, T., Superintendent, Fort Wayne Community Schools, FortWayne, Indiana. (www.fwcs.k12.in.us).Haycock, Kati. (Summer 1998). “Good Teaching Matters…A Lot.” ThinkingK-16, Publication of Education Trust, vol. 3, no.2.Haycock, Kati. (2001). “Dispelling the Myth, Revisited,” The EducationTrust. (www.edtrust.org/main/documents/DTMreport.pdf)Hopkins, P. & Katims, N. (Summer 2002) “A Longitudinal Study of FulltimeKindergarten.” Leadership Information, Publication of School Informationand Research Service, vol.1.no.3.No Child Left Behind, WSSDA Hot Topics. (July 2002). A publication ofthe Washington State School Directors’ Association. (wssda.org)Lewis, A. in collaboration with Paik, S. (2001). Add It Up: Using Research toImprove Education for Low-income and Minority Students. Washington, DC:Poverty & Race Research Action Council.McNeely, C., Nonnemaker, J. & Blum, R. ( April 2002) “Promoting SchoolConnectedness: Evidence from the National Longitudinal Study ofAdolescent Health.” Journal of School Health, vol. 72, no. 4.WASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ ASSOCIATION53

National Assessment of Educational Progress. (www.nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/).National Association for the Education of Young Children, Learning to Readand Write: Developmentally Appropriate Practices for Young Children, 1998.(www.naeyc.org/resources/position_statements/psread98.pdf)National Education Commission on Time and Learning. Report: Prisoners ofTime. (www.ed.gov/pubs/Prisonersoftime).No Child Left Behind, (www.nochildleftebehind.gov)Noguera, P. & Akom, A. (June 2000). “The Significance of Race in theRacial Gap in Academic Achievement.” In Motion Magazine.(www.inmotionmagazine.com/pnaa.html).Odden, A. & Archibald, S. (2001). Reallocating Resources: How to BoostStudent Achievement Without Asking for More. Thousand Oaks, CA:Corwin.Padrón,Y. & Waxman, H. et al. (Nov. 2000). Improving Classroom Instructionand Student Learning for Resilient and Non-resilient English Language Learners.Santa Cruz, CA. Center for Research in Education, Diversity andExcellence (CREDE).Payne, Ruby K. (1998). A Framework for Understanding Poverty. Highlands,TX: RFT Publishing.Reducing the Risk: Connections that Make a Difference in the Lives of Youth.Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health, University ofMinnesota, Box 721, 420 Delaware Street SE, Minneapolis, MN55455.Sadowski, M. (May - June 2001). “Closing the Gap One School at a Time.”Harvard Education Letter Research Online. (www.edletter.org).Sanders, W.L. and Rivers, J.C. (November 1996). Cumulative and ResidualEffects of Teachers on Future Student Academic Achievement. Knoxville, TN,Value-Added Research and Assessment Center, University of Tennessee.Seattle Post-Intelligencer – Special Reports. School Discipline: An Uneven Hand.(www.seattlepi.nwsource.com/morespecialreports).State of Washington Academic Achievement and Accountability Commission.(December 2001). Report to the Washington State Legislature: FourthGrade Reading Improvement in School Districts and Schools.The College Board. 2001 AP Summary Report, Public Schools, All States byEthnic Group. (www.collegeboard.com).Washington School Research Center. (2001). A Research Report: Bridging theOpportunity Gap: How Washington Elementary Students are Meeting AchievementStandards. Seattle Pacific University.54CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP: A POLICY ACTION GUIDE

Waymack N. & Drury, D. (Summer/Fall 1999). “Sizing It Right: Class-sizeReduction and Student Achievement.” National School Boards AssociationPolicy Research Brief. vol.1.no.1.WASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ ASSOCIATION55

Presentations Made to theAd Hoc Achievement GapTask ForceApril 2001Pete Bylsma, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI)Presentation on disaggregated WASL dataJohn Pope and Gia Tran of OSPIPresentation on the OSPI Unity ProjectJune 2001Ricardo Sanchez, Director of the Latino/a Educational Achievement Project(LEAP)Presentation on Project LEAP to improve educational achievementSteve Nelson, Director of Planning, the Northwest Regional EducationLaboratory (NWREL)Review of research identifying factors in students’ lives and in schoolsthat impact learningJerry Miller, Issaquah School DistrictPresentation on the “culture” of poverty based on Ruby Payne’s researchand book A Framework for Understanding PovertyLynn Fielding, Kennewick School Board and Task Force MemberPresentation on early childhood learning readinessAugust 2001Richard Catalano, Social Development Research Group, University ofWashingtonRisk and protective factor researchWASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ ASSOCIATION57

Gary Wilson Principal and Linda Hahn, Assistant Principal, LochburnMiddle School, Clover Park School District and Linda Fisher, Principal,Stevenson Elementary School, Bellevue School DistrictPresentations on high achieving, low socio-economic schoolsWendy Roedell, Puget Sound ESDEarly childhood learning standards: overview of the importance of earlychildhood educationGene Schmidt, Superintendent, Bridgeport School District and The LearningSpace’s Administrator of the YearPresentation on the digital divideRebecca Novick and Maureen Carr, NWRELPresentation on issues in literacy: A review of the advancement of“standard” literacy in us history to cognitive literacy expected todayGeneva Gay, University of Washington, Center for Multicultural EducationThe importance of multicultural education: Assumptions that needrethinkingSeptember 2001Thomas Cone, Assistant Superintendent, Vancouver School DistrictPersonalized plans for students with screening, diagnosis and a prescriptionfor mastery and the use of alternative state measures for demonstratingstudent growthAndrew Griffin, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI)Review of Superintendent Terry Bergeson’s announcement of the 2001WASL resultsJanuary 2002Cherri Brondstetter, Wenatchee School District Teacher and RichardGomez, OSPIEffectiveness of dual language programs and other best practices forEnglish language learnersStephen Fink, University of Washington, Center for Educational LeadershipCEL’s mission of closing the achievement gap by providing training inthe necessary will and savvy to make the changes needed58CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP: A POLICY ACTION GUIDE

March 2002Pat Wasley, Dean of the University of Washington’s School of EducationMission and vision of the School of EducationGeri Lim, CFO Seattle Public SchoolsSeattle Public Schools’ weighted student formula and the district’ssystem for allocating “central office resources”John Bowden, A+ CommissionDisaggregated data of student learning and program placementKathleen Plato, OSPIAdvanced Placement and the achievement gapPriscilla Zimmerman and Cynthia Chesak, Tukwila School DistrictHow the arts assist in meeting the essential academic learning requirementsApril 2002Bunker Frank, State Board of Education; Jan Storm, Washougal SchoolDistrict, Mike Loretz, Title I Distinguished Educator in Oregon; BenWright, Principal at Seattle’s Thurgood Marshall Intermediate School; JeanSmart, a former Edmonds Principal now with the Seattle District; andBarbara Greenberg of the Task Force and the Yakima School BoardModified school calendars and advantages to year round calendarsJune 2002Adie Simmons, Seattle Public Schools and the Family Partnerships ProgramParent and community involvementWASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ ASSOCIATION59

Notes